1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to personnel transporting apparatus and more particularly to a novel theatrical personnel carrier or transportation rig adapted to vertically and transversely position or locate a performer across a staging area in order to acheive special theatrical and illusionary effects for the benefit of a viewing audience.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the entertainment industry, it is often times necessary to transport acting personnel above a stage to represent the appearance of unsupportive suspension simulating the effects of flying, hoving, swimming or other similar special effects. Representative of such theatrical requirements are found in programming flying ballets, swimming effects for motion pictures, the performance of well known plays such as "Peter Pan" and other forms of theatrical presentation.
Various conventional overhead trolley and conveyer systems which suspend the performer from the end of a wire have been employed in the past to lift and transport acting personnel about a stage and which have employed simple pulley and line arrangements. Such a system or apparatus is disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,385. However, various problems and difficulties have been encountered with such prior systems which stem largely from the fact that precision maneuvering and orientation of the actor or performer about the stage cannot be properly acheived in a satisfactory manner which is realistic, convenient and safe for the performer. In one system, the performer may be readily lifted from the stage floor but substantial swinging of the performer is encountered which greatly hampers precise maneuvering and prevents the desirable feature of spotting a swinging performer at a particular point or spot on the stage. In other prior systems, the performer may be precisely maneuvered but a substantial portion of the conveying or transportation equipment is exposed to the view of the audience which, obviously, negates the theatrical illusion intended to be presented. Also, twisting of the pulley system lines sometimes occurs which jams the pulleys and requires additional attention and handling.
Perhaps one of the more glaring defects in prior or conventional theatrical transportation systems resides in the inability of the system to transport the performer across the stage at a varible height from the floor of the stage. Normally, as the performer traversers laterally across the stage, the pulleys change dimension as the carriages travel so that the performer either desends or ascends along a sloping line rather than at a desired height. This is a distinct disadvantage in many of the required theatrical performances.
Therefore, a long standing need has desired to provide a suitable apparatus for carrying a performer across the stage so as to give the illusion of flying at a selected height throughout the length of travel from one side of the stage to the other. Also, means need to be provided for permitting independent controlled travel of the performer across the length of the stage while providing independant control of the performers height above the floor of the stage.